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Leominster's Sholan Farms to host Envirothon May 15

Sentinel & Enterprise

Updated:
05/08/2014 06:32:24 AM EDT

LEOMINSTER -- Sholan Farms will host the Massachusetts Envirothon on May 15.

After preparing for the entire school year, 250 high-school students from more than 30 Massachusetts communities from Boston to the Berkshires will be ready to show how much they know about the environment and this year's current issue -- sustainable local agriculture.

Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella said, "Sholan Farms is the perfect place to host the Envirothon and I am thrilled that Leominster has been chosen. Taking classroom learning and applying it in the field is so valuable to our students, particularly exploring the link between science and Mother Nature. I've been counting the days until May 15 since last fall!"

At the outdoor field competition, teams will rotate through four "ecostations," where they will answer written questions and engage in hands-on activities, such as soil analysis, wildlife habitat assessment, tree identification and water-quality measures. Each team will have up to 10 participants and will split into specialized sub-teams during the competition.

At the fifth station, each team will give a 15-minute presentation on sustainable local agriculture to a panel of judges. Each panel of judges includes environmental professionals from government agencies, nonprofit organizations, academia and private industry.

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Teams were asked to assess sustainable agriculture in their community and to recommend steps that their city or town and individuals, including young people, should take to support local farming and food production.

"We are excited to come to Sholan Farms in Leominster for this year's Envirothon because it is a model of successful state, municipal and volunteer partnerships as well as environmental protection," said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan. "I congratulate all the students and teachers for their hard work preparing for the Envirothon and look forward to seeing their commitment to the environment in action."

Joanne DiNardo, president of Sholan Farms and conservation agent for the city of Leominster, said, "The Friends of Sholan Farms are proud and eager to serve as the host location for the 2014 Mass Envirothon. Our volunteer organization has been operating and restoring this community owned orchard since 2001. Our mission is to connect people to the Earth while using sustainable agricultural practices. The Envirothon is a perfect event that will showcase Sholan Farms and will teach youth about the importance of open space, soil health, clean air and water and forest health."

"We were really delighted when we learned that Sholan Farms was not only a working farm that could handle an event the size of the Envirothon, but also that the farm is a public-private partnership that demonstrates how local citizen initiative can partner with city, state and federal government to protect the land and educate people about it," said Massachusetts Envirothon Steering Committee Chairman Will Snyder of the University of Massachusetts Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment. "We want our participants to find inspiration in this example of people working with and through government for the benefit of their communities and the environment."

Sholan Farms is a 169-acre farm owned by the city of Leominster and operated by the Friends of Sholan Farms, a community supported, nonprofit organization managed by a group of dedicated members and volunteers.

The 2014 Massachusetts Envirothon is made possible through the contributions of partnering agencies and organizations, including financial support from the U.S. Forest Service; the Environmental Business Council of New England; the city of Leominster, Department of Public Works, Water and Sewer Division; and local conservation districts. Fifteen federal and state environmental agencies, conservation districts, nonprofit organizations, higher educational institutions and businesses provide expertise and help organize the event.

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